Podcast
The Tom’s Life Lab Podcast
Hosted by tomslifelab · ENGLISH
Tom’s Life Lab is a podcast exploring practical and innovative ways to navigate life’s challenges, boost happiness, and embrace uncertainty. Each episode is an experiment in mindset shifts, personal growth, and life hacks, helping you live with clarity, confidence, and curiosity.
We invite interesting and insightful guests who share their expertise to help you be happier and more effective in life and work.
You can find out more about Tom’s work and that of his company, HEX, at www.hex-development.com or on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-emery-b8809818/.
64episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Episode 64 Anxiety in the life: Recognising the trigger
1w ago00:01:47Tap to summarizeIn the final episode of the anxiety series, Tom explores how anxiety often starts in the body before it ever becomes a thought. Racing heart, tension, urgency, these physical signals can quickly pull us into overthinking or reactive behaviour. And in those moments, we’re more likely to believe thoughts that are fast, protective, and often exaggerated. This episode focuses on a simple but powerful skill: recognising when you’re triggered and creating space before you act. This week’s experiment: when you notice the signs, pause for 90 seconds. Don’t react, don’t respond, just let the wave pass, and then choose your next move more deliberately.
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Episode 63 Anxiety in the life lab: The illusion of control
2w ago00:01:46Tap to summarizeIn the second episode of the anxiety series, Tom explores a pattern that sits at the heart of anxiety: the need for control. Under pressure, we often try to manage everything: outcomes, opinions, and uncertainty. But instead of calming us down, this can leave us feeling drained and stuck in overthinking. This episode introduces a simple framework to help: separating what’s in your control, what you can influence, and what’s outside of both. By focusing your energy in the right place, you can reduce mental clutter and respond more clearly. This week’s experiment: when anxiety starts to spiral, map your thoughts into three columns : control, influence, and out of control, and focus only on what’s yours to act on.
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Episode 62 Anxiety in the life lab: Managing the uncontrollable
3w ago00:02:52Tap to summarizeIn the first episode of the anxiety series, Tom shares a story about “Will” - someone who, from the outside, seems to have it all together, but internally feels like everything could fall apart at any moment. This episode explores a common but rarely discussed experience: high-functioning anxiety. The kind that shows up as perfectionism, overthinking, or the constant fear of being “found out.” Tom breaks down a simple but powerful shift that helped: learning to separate what we can control from what we can’t. Alongside this, he introduces practical tools like gathering evidence to challenge anxious thinking, spotting early physical triggers, and creating a small pause before reacting. This week’s life lab experiment is to notice when anxiety shows up, question the story you're telling yourself, and take back control of your next move.
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Episode 61 From miles to milestones: The finish line
Apr 2200:02:27Tap to summarizeIn this final episode of Tom’s life lab, Tom reflects on crossing the finish line of the Manchester marathon 2026. After months of early mornings, long runs, and sticking to a plan, even when motivation wasn’t always there, the race itself becomes a moment of celebration. But what stood out most wasn’t the finish line. It was everything that came before it. Marathon training has a rhythm. Some runs feel strong and effortless, others feel slow, heavy, and difficult. And often, the hardest part is simply getting out of the door. But over time, those small, consistent efforts begin to add up. It led to a simple but powerful reflection on leadership. While it’s easy to focus on big moments, results, and visible milestones, what really shapes outcomes are the small decisions made day after day. The conversations you have when they’re difficult. The preparation you do when it feels repetitive. The discipline to keep going when progress feels slow.
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Episode 60 From miles to milestones: The quiet miles
Apr 1500:01:58Tap to summarizeIn this fourth episode of Tom’s life lab, Tom reflects on one of the more unexpected parts of marathon training, the quiet miles. While preparing for the Manchester marathon, his training plan has created regular time to run. On this particular run, there was no music or podcast, just the sound of his footsteps and breathing. And in that quiet, something shifted. Without distraction, his mind had space to wander, reflect, and think more clearly. It led to a simple realisation; many leaders don’t struggle with effort, they struggle with a lack of space. Space to think, to process, and to notice what’s really going on. In leadership, it’s easy to stay busy and keep moving. But without time to step back, clarity becomes harder to find and decisions become more reactive. This episode is an invitation to experiment with creating your own quiet miles.
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Episode 59 From miles to milestones: Finding rhythm - the pace of leadership
Apr 800:02:11Tap to summarizeIn this third episode of Tom’s life lab, Tom reflects on a simple but often overlooked idea in both running and leadership: pace. While training for the Manchester marathon, he’s following a structured plan; Some days focused on speed, others on distance, and some simply about getting the miles done. This particular run didn’t start well. The first mile felt heavy, his breathing was laboured, and nothing seemed to click. But instead of forcing it, he stayed with it. Gradually, his breathing settled, a rhythm emerged, and the run began to feel smoother, eventually even enjoyable. It’s a reminder that not every run, or every day, is meant to be fast. In leadership, there’s often pressure to operate at full speed all the time. But in reality, sustainable performance comes from knowing when to push, when to maintain, and when to slow down. This episode invites a shift in perspective, from constantly driving forward to learning how to recognise and respond to your natural rhythm.
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Episode 58 From miles to milestones: Running through resistance
Apr 100:02:18Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Tom’s life lab, Tom shares a very different side of marathon training. With the Manchester marathon getting closer, not every run feels good. This one nearly didn’t happen at all. Before even leaving the house, the excuses were there: maybe tomorrow, maybe a shorter run, maybe not today. But he went anyway. It wasn’t a great run. Heavy legs, no rhythm, no flow. Just getting it done. It’s a simple reminder that leadership isn’t always about motivation or big moments. A lot of the time, it’s about showing up, especially when you don’t feel like it.
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Episode 57 From miles to milestones: In flow - when leadership feels effortless
Mar 2500:02:23Tap to summarizeThis episode of Tom's life lab is the first in a five-part series 'from miles to milestones'. Tom shares a moment from his marathon training for Manchester marathon 2026 where everything just clicked. Most runs feel pretty ordinary: tired legs, low motivation, just sticking to the plan. But this week, he had one of those rare runs where everything just clicked. His breathing settled, his legs felt light, and he found that rhythm runners call flow. It made him think about leadership. Because those moments where things feel effortless, when teams are aligned and work just moves, don’t happen by accident. They’re built on consistency, preparation, and all the work that came before.
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Episode 56 Presence in life & leadership series: Staying present in difficult conversations
Mar 1800:03:05Tap to summarizeDifficult conversations aren’t hard because we don’t know what to say, they’re hard because we lose our presence. In the final episode of the presence in life and leadership series of Tom's Life Lab, Tom explores what happens in our nervous system during challenging conversations and how staying present, even when uncomfortable, can lead to more honest and impactful outcomes Life Lab Experiment: In your next difficult or uncomfortable conversation, notice the moment you feel triggered. Pause internally. Take a slow breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Drop your attention into your feet for three seconds. Then continue. It’s a small interruption, but one that helps you stay tethered to yourself and the present moment.
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Episode 55 Presence in life & leadership series: Managing our energy
Mar 1100:01:46Tap to summarizeMany people believe they’re struggling because they don’t have enough time. But what if the real issue is energy? In this third episode of the presence in life and leadership series, Tom reflects on how caring too much, over-responsibility, and fear of dropping the ball can quietly push us toward burnout. Rather than doing more, this episode invites a shift in focus from managing time to managing energy. You’ll be guided through a simple Life Lab experiment to help you become more aware of what drains your energy, what restores it, and how to recover well so you can return with clarity and presence. Life Lab Experiment: Each evening this week, pause and ask yourself: What gave me energy today? What drained me? What do I need to do to recover before tomorrow? Because real impact comes less from doing more and more from wasting less energy.
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